Pump control for line casting machines



Sept. 19, 1933. LE ROY w. WILLIS 1,927,764

PUMP CONTROL FOR LINE CASTING MACHINES Filed Dec. 18, 1931 IlllllllllllIllllllllill HI]! ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 19, 1933 v i UNITED, STATES V1,927,764 v PUMP CONTROL FOR LINE CASTING.

- MACHINES Le Roy W. Willis, Stamford, Conn; assignor' to IntertypeCorporation, Brooklyn, N. Y., a corporation of New York I ApplicationDecember 18, 1931 Serial No. 581,972

11 Claims (01. 22-70) The present invention relates to improvements inline casting machines ,of the class wherein a composed line of matricesis presented to the front of a slug casting mold, the mouthpiece of ametal pot is brought against the back otthe mold and a pump contained insaid pot and controlled by a cam-operates to inject molten metal intothe mold and against the line of matrices to produce a type bar or slug.

The invention relates more particularly to the pump control means forsuch machines whereby the pump may be caused to act normally or slowlyfor the injection of the metal into molds of the usual form and size andfor casting from the usual matrices or may be caused to act to injectthe metal quickly or suddenly-into molds of large sizes such as thoseused for the casting of heading or display type to insure rapid andcomplete filling of such molds or in casting from matrices thecharacters of which have fine or slim lines in order to insure completefilling out of the outlines of such characters and thus obtain sharpnessof detail in the reproductions of such characters on the type bars orslugs.

The present invention is an improvement upon the pump control meansshown and described in U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,290,201, grantedJan.7, 1919 to T. S. I-Iomans, the device shown in said patent for impartingthe quick or sudden action to the pump being so arranged that it comesinto action during each cycle of operation of the machine. In thecommercial application of that device, a hook has been provided forholding it out of action if desired, such having been found necessarysince it was not always desirable to allow the pump to descend withgreat force and suddenness.

The present invention provides an improvement upon the device asdisclosed in said Homans patent as well as the commercial applicationthereof, since the device in both of said instances has required manualmanipulation thereoffrom its relatively inaccessible position at therear of the machine for throwing it into and out of action. According tothe present invention, the pump control device has means for constantlyholding it out of action so that a normal stroke of the pump can takeplace, and means inde-. pendentthereof and controlled by the operator,at will whereby the pump control device will auto-, matically respond inaccordance with a setting made by the operator at the front. of themachine so that it will cause a normal stroke of the pump plunger or aquick and forceful action thereof, as desired.

To these andother ends, the invention consists in certain improvementsand-combinatlons and. arrangements of parts all as willibe hereinafterdescribed, the features of novelty beingpointed out particularly in theclaims specification.

In the accompanying drawing: r 1 Fig. 1 is a side elevation of thecastingmech-g anism of a linecasting machine of well' known form butembodying a-pump controlling .device at the. end. of the constructed inaccordance with thejpresent invention; V

Fig. 2 is a detail side elevation of a portionof the pump controllingcam and pump actuating means, showing the pump controldevice and itssetting means in position fornormal operation of thepump; i Fig. 3 is aview similar to Fig. 2 but showing the pump. control device and itssetting means in position for a-quick or sudden stroke of the pump; Fig.i is an enlarged section taken-on thelline 4--4ofFig.3,and

Fig. 5 is a detail view on an enlargedscale of the pump'control device.7 Similar parts are designated by the same reference characters in thedifferent figures. I, The present invention is applicable generally toline casting machines of the class employing a pump for injecting metalinto a mold for the casting of a type bar or slug and having a cam orequivalent member operating in proper timed 1 relation to the operationof the machine for causing or permitting operation of the pump atappropriate times. In the present instance, the invention is shownapplied to the casting mechanism of a machine of the well known classshown and described. generallyin U. S. Letters Patent No. 436,532,granted Sept. 16,1890 to O. Mergenthaler, and the preferred embodimentof the invention is shown and will be hereinafter-described. It is to beunderstood, however, that the invention is not restricted .to theprecise con struction; shown since equivalent constructions arecontemplated and such will beincludedwith in the scope of the claims. v

In the present instance, 1 represents a portion of the frame of atypographical machine of the class referred to, Zrepresents the usualmold wheel carrying a slug casting mold Which is brought at appropriatetimes into casting position, 3 represents a portion of the usual,so-called first elevator which serves'to present a composed line ofmatrices in front of the-mold for the casting of the typebar or slug.against the character bearing edges of the matrices, irepresents theinto the mold to cast the type bar or slug therein.

The pump plunger operatingrocl 6 is operatively connected to an arm 7 ofa pump operating lever 8, this lever being pivoted as usual on a pivotpin or shaft 9 mounted in a bracket 10 attached to the stationary frameof the machine, and a spring 11 is attached at one end to the bracketlOand at its other end to a rod 12, the lower end of this rod bearing onthe arm 7 and acting in a direction to force the arm 7 downwardly andthus operate the pump plunger on its metal injecting stroke. 1

The pump operating lever '8, as shown, is controlled by a slowlyrotating cam 13 mounted on the main cam shaft 14 of the machine, asusual, this cam having a depression 14 in its circum ference, and thepump operating lever 8 has an arm 15 carrying a roller 16 which latterrides on the periphery of the cam 13, thepump plunger being then held inits raised or inactive position and the roller 16 drops into thedepression 14 when the latter is brought opposite to the roller 16 bythe rotation of the cam, thereby allowing descent of the arm 7 under theaction of the spring 11 and thus causing ametal injecting strokeof thepump to effect the casting of the type bar or slug in the mold, it beingunderstood that'the pump makes a metal injecting stroke at theappropriate time during each cycle of operation of the castingmechanism.

According to the present invention, a pawl 1'7 is'pivoted on a pivotpinor screw 18 in a recess 19 formed in one side of the cam 13, this recesshaving a banking surface 20' against which the pawl may rest while inone position and having an opposite banking surface 21 which limits theswing of the pawl in the opposite direction. A spring 22 is connected atone end, as by the pin 23, to the pawl 17 and the other end of thisspring isattached, as by the pin 24, to the body of the cam, this springbeing under tension so that it normally acts toswing the'pawl 17 againstthe banking surface 20 and to hold it thereagainst. The pawl 17 is alsoprovided, at the side thereof removed from the banking surface 20, witha lug 25 which extends substantially to the opposite or inner face ofthe cam,th'is lug forming a widened edge or lip on the corner of thepawl adjacent to the depression 14 and over which the roller 16 rides torelease the pump for operation.

The portion of the outer or top surface 26 of that part of the pawllying within the recess 19 which is formed by the top of the lug 25 iscurved on a radius which is concentric with the center of the cam 13when the pawl 17 rests against the banking surface 20, as shown .in Fig.2, and the portion of this surface from the point where the roller 16first contacts with it to a point thereon represented by theintersection of a line drawn through the axis of the cam and the axis 18of thepawl is concentric with the cam. when the pawl is extended againstthe banking surface 2l, but from the latter point to the dropoff cornerof the lug 25, said surface recedes within the periphery of the cam whenthepawl is extended. The relatively raised end portion 27 of the'outeror upper surface 27 of that pora pair of notches 35 one or the other ofwhich is engageable with the locking plate 34. Reciprof in Figs. 3 and 5so that said end portion 27 'will project beyond the periphery of thecam when the pawl rests against the banking surface20, as shown in Fig.2. The roller 16 on the pump actuating lever is sufficiently wide tooverlap and ride upon theisurface 26 of the pawl 17, the portion of saidsurface formed bythe top of the lug 25' formnig a concentriccontinuation of the outer surface of the cam when the pawl is swungagainst the abutment surface 20 as shown in Fig. 2, and the riding oftheroller 16' over the outer edge of the lug 25 while the pawl occupiesthis position will cause the pump to make its normal or relatively slowmetal injecting stroke as the roller 16 settles slowly or gradually intothe depression 14 in the cam under the action of the spring 11. When thepawl 17 is swung outwardly, away from the banking surface 20 and againstthe banking surface 21, the roller 16, as it rides over the outer edgeof the lug 25, will be suddenly released by the swing of the pawl 1'7from its extended position back against the banking surface 20, underthe force applied by the spring 11 to move the roller 16 inwardly towardthe center of the cam, thereby effecting a sudden or 1 abrupt metalinjecting stroke of the pump.

The means provided by the present invention for controlling the positionof the pawl 17, and hence the operation of the metal injecting pump,comprises, as shown, an arm 28 fixed to one end 1 of the shaft or pivot9 which latter is rotatable in the bracket 10, this arm 28 carrying aroller 29 which is offset to one side of the main or pump controllingroller 16 and in the plane in which the surface 2'7 of the pawloperates, and 1 an arm 30 which is fixed to the other end of the shaft 9and is operatively connected to 'a rod 31 which extends forwardly to thefront of the machine where it is provided with an operating knob orhandle 32. The rod 31 is reciprocable for- 1 Wardly or rearwardlythrough the face plate 33 of the machine, and a locking plate 34 isfixed to the face plate and the rod 31 is provided with cation of therod 31 forwardly or rearwardly swings the roller 29 toward or from thecam 13, one of the notches 35 being so located that when it is engagedwith the locking plate 34, the

roller 29, at the side thereof toward the center of the cam, itwill beengaged by the surface 27 on the pawl 17 as the latter rotates with thecam, and since the pawl 17 will normally lie against the banking surface20 under the action of the spring 22, at which time the portion 2'7 ofthe surface 2'7 toward the depression 14 will project beyond the circleof the outer periphery of the cam, the pawl 1'7 will be held by theroller 29 so that it will pivot about its pivot point 18 as the rotationof the cam proceeds in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1,so that the'pawl Will be eventually rocked into position against 29, thepump controlling roller 16 will'have en-.

gaged the surface 26 on the pawl, and as the rotation of the camcontinues, the roller 16 will ride on the surface 26, under the pressureof the actuating spring 11, until the roller 16'reaches the corner ofthe pawl formed 'by the lug 25 adjacent to the depression 14, the forceof the actuating spring 11 then causing the pawl 17 to deflect back toits normal position againstthe banking surface 20 and such removal ofthepawl from beneath the roller 16 allowing the latter to swing quickly orsuddenly into the cam depression 14, thus causing a quick or suddenmetal injecting stroke of the pump.

In operation, while making casts in molds of the usual size and from theusual matrix lines, the rod 31 will be set in its rear position as shownin Fig. 2, thepawl 17 then occupying its normal position against thebanking surface 20 and being held in such position by thespring 22, thepump.

lever roller 16 then riding on the surface of the cam'13 until the pawlreaches it, the roller 16 then riding over the surface '26 on the pawlwhich forms a concentric continuation of. the periphery of the cam,until the roller 16 reaches the depression 14 in the cam, at which pointthe roller 16 leaves the surface 26 on the pawl and enters thedepression in the cam, thus allowing the pump actuating lever 8 to rockabout the shaft 9 as a bearing or center and thus impart a normal metalinjecting stroke to the pump plunger through the pump plunger operatingrod 6. When it is desired to provide a sudden and forceful metalinjecting stroke of the pump plunger, as in ejecting molten metal intomolds for casting large slugs or slugs in which the characters on thematrices aligned against the front of the mold have fine or slim linesagainst which the molten metal must be caused to flow with greatpressure in order to completely -fil1 out the outlines of thecharacters, it is only necessary for the operator, at the front of themachine,-to"pull the rod 31 forwardly and to engage the rear notch 35with the locking plate 34. Such move ment of the rod 31 will rock theshaft 9 and arm 28 into a position where the roller 29 lies on the samepitch circle with the periphery of the main cam, as shown in Fig. 1, thelocking of the rod 31 by the plate 34 firmly holding the roller 29 insuch position. Since the roller 29 is in the plane of movement of thesurface 27 on the pawl 17, the relatively raised portion 2'? of thissurface on the pawl will come against the roller 29 as the pawl isbrought opposite to the roller 29, as shown in Fig. 1, and as the camcontinues to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow in saidfigure, the pawl 17 will be thereby held back in its movement as therotation of the cam continues, since the end portion 2'7 of the surface27 on the pawl then projects beyond the circle in which the periphery ofthe cam lies until the portion 2'7 is brought into concentric relationwith the periphery of the cam and into position to pass beneath theroller 29, as shown in Fig. 5. The further rotation of the cam thereforecauses the pawl 17 to rock on its pivot 18, from its normal positionagainst the banking surface 20 into extended position against thebanking surface 21 as shown in Figs. 3 and 5. Before the pawl 17 passesbeyond the roller 29, its surface 26 is engaged by the main or pumpcontrolling roller 16, and the roller 16 will ride over the surface 26on the pawl until it reaches the outer corner of the pawl adjacent tothe depression 14, the pressure of the roller 16 against the pawl underthe action of the spring 11 holding the pawl in its extended positionuntil the roller 16 reaches the corner thereof, whereupon the inwardpressure of the roller -16 under the action of the spring 11 will causethe pawl 17 to be deflected back into its normal position against thebanking surface 20, thus removing thepawl from beneath the roller16; andwhile the roller 16' will be released at a somewhat later point thanwhen the pawl occupies its-nor mal position against the banking surface20, the release of the roller '16 by the pawl 17 while the latter is inits extended position, will be more sudden so that the roller 16 willenter the depression 14 in the main cam without retardation, due to theinstant deflection of the pawl from beneaththe roller 16. In order torestore the 7 machine for the making of casts in the normal or usualway, it is only necessary for the operator to unlock the rod 31 fromthe-locking plate 34 and to set said rod in its rear position where theroller 29 will clear the pawl I'I'during rotation of thecam.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the present invention providesmeans which may be conveniently operated from the front of the machinefor controlling theoperation of the metal injecting pump so as toproduce either the normal metal injecting strokes thereof or sudden orabrupt strokes, as desired, thus rendering it unnecessary for theoperator to'leave his usual position at the front of the machine and toset the pump control means by reaching into the relatively inaccessiblecam shaft, and it will also be seen that the improved pump control"means effects the setting of the pawl on the cam automatically duringthe rotation of the cam. The

pump control means provided by. the present invention also enables thesingle pawl to control the operation of the pump to effect a normal or asudden or quick metal injecting stroke, according to whethertsuch'pawlis in its normal or its extended position, the construction being thussimplified and reliable operation attained.

I claim as my invention:-

1. Ina line casting machine having a pump for injecting molten metalinto a mold, a pump actuating member connected to the pump, and 21.

rotatable cam carrying a part engageable with said'pump actuating memberand movable into different positions on the cam for controlling therotatable cam carrying a part engageable'with said pump actuating memberand movable into different positions on the cam for controlling theoperation of said pump, means'capable of being set to directly engageand move said part into one of its pump controlling positions during therotation of said cam.

3. In a line casting machine having a pump for injecting molten metalinto a mold, a pump actuating member connected to the pump, and a saidactuating member and movable into different positions on said rotatablecam to control the operation of said actuating member, said part havingan outer edge thereon facing toward the '145 rotatable cam carryinga-part engageable with I a point remote from said rotatable cam andengageable directly with said. outer edge of said part to set, said partin one of said pump controlling positions. a

4. In a line casting machine having a pump for injecting molten metalintora mold, a pump actuating member connected to the pump, a camcarrying a part movable into difierent positions thereon, said partbeing engageable with the pump actuating member to control the operationof said member, and means capable of being set from the operatorsposition at the front of the machine to act directly on said part duringrotation of the cam to move said part intoone of its pump controllingpositions.

5. In a line casting machine having a pump for injecting molten metalinto a mold, a pump actuating member connected to the pump and carryinga roller, a cam carrying a part movable into differentpositions thereonsaid part being engageable with said roller of the pump actuating memberto control the operation of said member, and means capable of being setfrom the operators position at the front of the machine to act directlyon said part during rotation of the cam to move said part into one ofits pump controlling positions;

6. In a line casting machine having a pump for injecting molten metalinto a mold, an actuating member connected to the pump, and a camcarrying a part movable into different positions thereon, said partbeing engageable with said actuating member to control the operation ofsaid member, meanscapable of being set from a point remote from the caminto and out of position to directly engage said part to move said partinto one of said pump controlling positions.

'7. In a line castingmachine having a pump for injecting molten metalinto a mold and an actuating member connected to the pump, a circularrotatable cam carrying a pawl movable into difierent positions thereon,said pawl being engageable with said actuating member to control theoperation of said member, said pawl also having a surface which is acontinuation of the curvature of that of the cam when the pawl is in oneposition and projecting beyond the surface of the cam when in anotherposition, and means capable of being set to engage and act on saidsurface of said pawl tomove the pawl into on of 'its pump controllingpositions.

8; In a line casting machine having a pump for injecting molten metalinto a mold and an actuating member connected to the pump, a circularrotatable cam carrying apawl movable into difierent positions thereon,said pawl having a surface which is a continuation of that of the camwhen the pawl is in one position and engageable with said, actuatingmember and having another surface which projects beyond that of the camwhen in said position and isa continuation of the curvature of that ofthe ,cam when the pawl is in another position, and means to engage andact on said latter surface of ,the pawl to move the pawl, into one vofits pump controlling positions. 7 .7 9. Ina line casting machine havinga pump for injecting molten 'metal-into.a mold and an actuating memberconnected to the pump, a circular rotatable cam carrying a pawl movableinto different positions thereon, said pawl being engageable with saidactuating member to control the operation of said member, said pawl alsohaving a surface which is a continuation of the curvature of that of thecam when the pawl is in one position and projecting beyond'thesurface ofthe cam when in another position, a a

roller independent of said actuating member and 00 movable from aninactive to an active position to ride on said surface of the pawl tomove the pawl into one of its pump controlling positions, and means forsetting and holding said roller in said active position.

10. In a line casting machine, pump control means comprising, incombination, a pump cam having a yieldable part, thereon engageable bythe cam roller, means normally retaining said part yieldingly in aretracted position on the cam, and means directly engageable with, saidpart and operable to overcome temporarily the holding power of saidretaining meansto move said part to an extended position on said camp11. Ina line casting machine, pump control 15 means comprisingyincombination, a rotatable pot ,pump cam provided with a depression intowhich the cam roller drops during the rotation of the cam, a yieldablepawl pivoted on-the cam in advance of said depression and adapted to beextended from" the cam roller engaging surface of the cam toward saiddepression, a spring fixed to said cam and to said pawl and normallyholding said pawl in aretracted position, and means controllable fromthe operators position at the front of the machine to move said pawl toan extended position. i

LE ROY W. WILLIS.

